Taxonomic revision of the tarantula genus Aphonopelma Pocock, 1901 (Araneae,Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae) within the United States

Chris A. Hamilton, Brent E. Hendrixson, Jason E. Bond

Abstract

This systematic study documents the taxonomy, diversity, and distribution of the tarantula spider genusAphonopelma Pocock, 1901 within the United States. By employing phylogenomic, morphological, and geospatial data, we evaluated all 55 nominal species in the United States to examine the evolutionary history of Aphonopelma and the group’s taxonomy by implementing an integrative approach to species delimitation. Based on our analyses, we now recognize only 29 distinct species in the United States.